Chapter 387: Docking

The spaceship experienced a brief and strange "oscillation" as it exited hyperspace.

Although the ship remained quite stable in terms of physical structure and real-world coordinates, the moment the spatial curvature returned caused everyone's perception to misalign briefly; that disorientation felt as if one were simultaneously placed in several different "locations," before all those "locations" collapsed into a single fixed point in the real world within an extremely short instant—for anyone experiencing a faster-than-light vessel for the first time, this was absolutely an unprecedented experience.

Outside the massive observation window, the red-blue shift effect was fading rapidly; the closed space bubble opened, and in the instant the warped space smoothed out, the stars suddenly resumed their normal appearance from that two-dimensional film, revealing a starry sky completely different from what could be observed near the Profound Heaven Spirit Hub in everyone's eyes.

Irene ran pitter-patter to the observation window, climbed onto the platform, stretched her neck to gaze at the magnificent starry sky outside, and let out an exaggerated exclamation: "Wow—"

Then she turned her head: "Hey Yu Sheng, Yu Sheng, where is Shu Ji?"

No sooner had she spoken than the starry sky outside the observation window began to move slowly, and then a relatively dim orange-red star entered everyone's field of vision.

"We are currently traveling at sub-light speed and are expected to enter the near-star deceleration zone around 'Shu Ji' in about an hour," Yu Sheng said casually from the captain's seat, "but the Otherworld Inn cannot land directly on the planetary surface—this planet has no civilian Xinggang open to large-scale spaceships of this size, so we will dock at a high-orbit docking station, then take a Shuttle Girl into the atmosphere."

Irene listened, stunned: "Shuttle Girl? Does this ship of ours have that configuration?"

Yu Sheng: "It's Hu Li."

"Oh, is that so?"

The fox-girl sitting beside Yu Sheng proudly squinted her eyes; this Miss looked quite pleased.

On the other side, Zheng Zhi listened to the exchange between Yu Sheng and Irene, turning his head left and right for a while as if searching for someone to talk to, before finally leaning over to whisper to Luna, who was fixed in her chair like a statue, making no sound and moving not a muscle: "When I'm by Brother Yu's side, I always feel my imagination isn't rich enough..."

But Luna didn't pay him any attention either, still standing there like a statue.

Irene, after saying "is that so," took another ten-odd seconds to suddenly realize, staring at Yu Sheng with wide eyes: "Wait, don't we have a more normal landing tool? Something like a small aircraft..."

"Uh, we originally had a few," Yu Sheng said somewhat awkwardly, "but one of those small ships had an accident while transporting Anka Ela crystals, the remaining two were damaged when intercepted by the Special Operations Bureau previously, and there are three more parked in the hangar... I never figured out how to operate them. Those things aren't on the same system as the Otherworld Inn; they're independent objects. When I took over the big ship, I didn't take over those smaller ones, so now there's no synchronization with them."

Irene thought for a moment: "Then it's not hard to say; just go crash into the hangar in your spare time."

Upon hearing this, Yu Sheng's face turned green: "Do you even hear what you're saying? Is that human speech?!"

At that moment, he couldn't help but start missing the Irene from when they first met—that little doll back then was so good; she even cared about his life and death, thinking of letting him die as few times as possible to avoid any aftereffects. Since when did this guy start running wild like this...

Yu Sheng pondered there for a few seconds, suddenly feeling this might be his own problem—after all, currency devaluation often starts with oversupply...

"Later I'll slowly study how to operate the small spaceship," realizing the source of the problem, Yu Sheng immediately changed the subject, controlling the Otherworld Inn to move toward the star orbited by Shu Ji while adding casually, "And don't you think re-entering the atmosphere together with a Nine-Tailed Silver Fox is pretty cool..."

Irene was easy to fool: "Oh, is that so?"

Then another two seconds passed, and on the other side, Luna suddenly nodded at Zheng Zhi: "Mm, right."

Zheng Zhi didn't react at all to what was happening: "……?"

Meanwhile, as the spaceship began moving toward Shu Ji, Yuan Hao Zhenren also rose from his seat.

He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a square object (don't ask why it's square) that seemed carved from Bai Yu, then slightly narrowed his eyes as if carefully sensing something, muttering incantations, while the surface of the Bai Yu object emitted a warm, lustrous glow.

Seeing this, Irene immediately became curious: "Hey, what is this doing?"

"Sensing whether there are any spies nearby," Yuan Hao Zhenren opened his eyes, looking extremely serious, "Yun Qingzi may have been operating in Shu Ji for many years; we must be extremely careful here."

Irene's eyes widened: "……No way! That exaggerated? We're still decelerating in space; how can they lock onto someone from so far away?!"

"Do not underestimate those ancient great powers," Yuan Hao Zhenren shook his head with a solemn expression, "In the chaotic era when history was reforged and heaven and earth reopened, many of those ancient great powers stabilized an entire planet's situation solely through their own strength, protecting billions of living beings—they possessed countless bizarre methods, and many ancient secret techniques seem utterly unreasonable to people of today."

Irene: "……"

While the little doll stood there dumbfounded, Yu Sheng did not speak but silently increased his synchronization level with the Otherworld Inn once more; immediately, the radar of the entire ship powered on, beginning to scan all nearby anomalous high-energy small units and all detection signals directed at this vessel.

Whether Yun Qingzi could see through and lock onto someone across an astronomical unit, he didn't know, but he was currently piloting a black-tech spaceship that could rank among the best in the entire universe; the Sacred Hidden Sect built this thing specifically for special operations and infiltration across major civilization circles, and the ship's radar suite was certainly not for show.

"No threat units detected, nor any unauthorized signal illumination," after a moment, Yu Sheng shook his head, "A total of five directional signals were detected: two were identification and welcome messages emitted from Shu Ji's planetary surface, one was navigation guidance from the docking station, and the other two were from the Jiaoguan Bureau, reminding me not to drink while piloting, and warning that speeding within the near-star deceleration zone incurs a fine of five thousand spirit stones."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Hao Zhenren clicked his tongue: "Back in my day, the fine was only three thousand."

Those around him felt too embarrassed to ask how he knew that so clearly...

The spaceship traveled at sub-light speed for a while; that orange-red star gradually fell behind outside the observation window, while a beautiful gray-blue planet appeared ahead on the flight path. Subsequently, the Otherworld Inn adjusted its flight attitude once more and began approaching a docking station near that planet under the guidance of the signal, while performing final terminal deceleration.

The structurally complex engine array continuously adjusted its operating mode; the entire ship underwent a series of decelerations and fine-tunings, finally approaching the docking facility quietly floating in the dark space—a massive tower connected to numerous large platforms.

That tower and the surrounding platforms still faintly showed traces of the Immortal style in their design; details such as auspicious clouds and talisman decorations clearly originated from the Profound Heaven Spirit Hub, but their overall aesthetic was obviously different from most buildings on the Profound Heaven Star; the entire docking station leaned much more toward simple practicality, with a main framework featuring hard lines and a tower structure resembling the "space architecture" in Yu Sheng's impression.

Clearly, even the relatively "closed" Feiyu Star Domain had its border planets heavily influenced by the outside world; this docking station located in Shu Ji's high orbit bore some resemblance to civilization circles—according to the data, it was likely more influenced by the Algrede people.

Under Yu Sheng's precise control, the massive Otherworld Inn docked at the edge of a large platform near that space tower with incredible flexibility and precision; consuming almost no effort from the traction system, this large spaceship completed docking with the platform. After some time (mainly Yu Sheng checking the manual to confirm his operations indeed complied with safety regulations), the Otherworld Inn sent a "connection clear" signal to the docking station and, according to regulations, applied for guidance personnel to board the bridge for reception.

The airlock at the bottom of the spaceship opened, and Yu Sheng's group stepped out, arriving on the connecting bridge of the docking platform.

This was an open structure that appeared completely "exposed" to the space environment; neither the connecting bridge nor the platform at the end of the long bridge showed any physical protective structures resembling domes or armor, yet the entire architectural area possessed normal gravity and atmosphere—an invisible "life-support" field enveloped everything, maintaining a perfectly comfortable environment.

Several "guides" wearing light-gray Xinggang uniforms were already waiting on the bridge—they were not "cultivators" who had obtained citizenship, but "ordinary people" working in this space facility.

As soon as these guides saw someone disembark from that massive spaceship, they immediately approached to verify Yu Sheng's captain credentials (issued by the Borderlands) and travel permit (issued by the Profound Heaven Spirit Hub); then the leader among them couldn't help but exclaim in admiration: "Truly a captain from the Borderlands; maneuvering such a huge spaceship with such agility. Normally, if a vessel of this size entered the port, even with the assistance of a vessel spirit or machine soul, it would take a couple of hours to fuss around."

Upon hearing this, Yu Sheng immediately became as proud as could be, raising his hand to poke the little doll on his shoulder: "I told you my piloting skills are good."

Irene rolled her eyes: "Of course; if you drive yourself and then crash into the dock, you should go see a Physician for neurology."

Yu Sheng ignored the little doll's usual sarcasm and, somewhat awkwardly, followed the guide's instructions to complete the registration procedures for docking the large spaceship—all fees were charged to the Thousand Peaks Lingshan account.

After registering and verifying all information, the several guides visibly relaxed; one of them asked casually: "Are you gentlemen heading directly to Shu Ji, or staying at this Xinggang for a few days? Our Xinggang is also a moderately sized tourist attraction; there are several nice streets and restaurants above, plus a duty-free mall where you can buy crafts from the Algrede Star Domain."

To be honest, having just come from the Profound Heaven Spirit Hub with its Immortal atmosphere, suddenly hearing a Xinggang worker on this border planet say these things made Yu Sheng feel somewhat unaccustomed... It felt as if the aesthetic had suddenly switched to vibration mode.

"We are here on business and will proceed directly to the planetary surface," Yu Sheng organized his words, recalling a set of explanations prepared before departure, "We have accepted a commission from Thousand Peaks Lingshan and need to go to Mocheng."

"Mocheng?" One guide raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, speaking as if casually, "Mocheng has been a bit unstable these past two days."

(End of Chapter)